Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Rosehip Syrup??


No, you're not imagining things, the bottle in the photograph is, indeed, empty. This is what happens when you try to multi-task whilst making rosehip syrup!


I've been waiting for weeks for the rosehips to ripen. Going out every day & giving them a squeeze, distracting my lovely assistant from pulling them all off and throwing them to (at?) the chickens. Rosehip syrup is a gorgeous way of getting some extra vitamin c, without all of the extra acid which comes from eating ten thousand mandarins!


Anyhow, on Monday I went out with my basket & my assistant, and harvested about 100 grams of juicy, red rosehips. (Thankfully...) the rest of them aren't ready yet, hopefully in a week or so. 


It's a super easy process...(well it should be, anyway!). I don't think the amounts are so important, so long as you keep the proportions about right. You don't really need the spices, but I like them :) 


100g ripe red rosehips
A few cloves
A cinnamon stick
300ml or so of water


Crush the rosehips, and put them in a pan with the spices & water. Simmer for 20 minutes or so. Strain out the solids, then add about as much sugar (I guess honey would work too, but we didn't have any!) as there is liquid. Stir 'til dissolved, bring to the boil, and simmer for ten minutes or so. DO NOT WALK AWAY!!! 


Needless to say, I walked away...when I returned I had what resembled rosehip toffee. A dark, viscous liquid bubbling madly in my little le creuset milk pan (a wonderful trade me score, that!). I went with it, poured it out onto some baking paper, then smashed it up into a mysterious rosehip toffee/spun sugar creation. Not exactly what I had in mind, it tasted pretty good, totally unsuitable for getting a bit of vitamin c into Jarvis, but an interesting experiment nonetheless. Thank goodness for the rest of the rosehips being unripe, or I would have destroyed the whole crop! 


Hopefully before too long my lovely little potion bottle will have rosehip syrup in it. Until then, we'll continue to eat ten thousand mandarins a day ;) 



3 comments:

  1. thanks for your lovely comments on my blog! yes please blog about the tiny amp!

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  2. Thanks for visiting my blog and for the lovely comment you left! I have been enjoying browsing yours just now as well! I am enjoying the summer, thanks - wish I could send you some warm weather! Interesting post about the rose hip syrup. I should forward your recipe to my Mum, my Dad grows sooo many roses in their garden!

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  3. You're more than welcome to a bottle of mine - I've made so much over the last few weeks, given bottles galore away & still have plenty left! No chance of catching rickets arond here :)

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